My aunt swore I had to preheat the air fryer every time, so I did for 6 months

My aunt Judy (she lives in Tampa) insisted you absolutely have to preheat an air fryer for 5 minutes before putting anything in, or the food comes out soggy. I followed her advice for half a year straight until one day I forgot to preheat and my chicken wings came out perfectly crispy anyway. Has anyone else gotten stuck following advice from a family member that turned out to be totally unnecessary? What's the worst cooking tip someone swore by that just wasn't true?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_shane3d ago

Wait, your aunt Judy from Tampa has the same energy as my uncle Rick who insists you have to wash chicken with lemon juice or you'll get sick? Like, where do these rules come from, the secret family gospel of unnecessary steps? Air fryer preheating is the flat earth theory of cooking advice. Everyone swears by it until someone accidentally proves them wrong with some perfectly crispy wings. I spent four months flipping my bacon halfway through because my mom told me air fryers have "hot spots" that burn the bottom. Nope, just wasted four months of bacon flipping for nothing. Honestly I think family cooking myths are just inherited from grandparents who used to preheat ovens for 45 minutes back in the 70s. Now we're all just running around preheating tiny convection ovens like we're preparing for a NASA launch.

reese5512d ago

Bacon flipping for four months, man, that stings. Your mom meant well but dang, that's a lot of wasted effort.